A Blog Called Wanda

Nostalgia and Good Vibes for Summer!

Hey everyone! I hope you're feeling groovy today! Because I have some groovy cards for you! Ha! These cards were inspired by my childhood, growing up in the 70's! Did you grow up watching Brady Bunch and Partridge Family? (original episodes)! Did you have feathered hair? Did you ride your bike everywhere? Did you drink your water intake from the hose outside? Then you will relate to these fun and funky projects. I grew up in California in the 70's. In middle school there was a definite "look" for us kids. We all wanted OP (Ocean Pacific) shirts and white Nikes with a red swoosh. It was the uniform of my school. Those OP shirts came in strange color combos, totally indicative of the time period. I remember them so well! And if I close my eyes I can smell Love's Baby Soft.... (CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME PICTURES)

Inspiration comes in funny ways to me... It might be a magazine ad, a flower, a color combo... In this case, I was inspired to make this card because of those OP shirts! A combination of dies I have purchased over the past few months were on my table together...and the idea popped in my head! I love to make cards using stamps and dies from all my supplies, mixing and matching products from different companies. I feel that this adds another level of creativity and makes our projects uniquely ours. The way we see things and combine things makes for great art. SUPPLY LIST HERE or at the bottom of the post!

Today's cards use only dies, no stamps. I like to do that too! I made one card in warm tones with a cream background, and one card in more vibrant tones with a bright white background. I also changed the orientation of the cards to show you how you can change things up! Grab your surfboard and let's look! 

 

Both of these cards are A2 size! One is white and the other is cream cardstock. One is horizontal and one is vertical. These cards were made with four different dies: The wave, the palm trees, the rainbow background, and the good vibes. I used my favorite AC Cardstock to mix and match colors until I got just the right combinations. I used lots of black accents to look like silhouettes against the rainbow. The Good Vibes die is so cool - it comes with two pieces so you can make a background layer. 

 

The Good Vibes sentiment is mounted to the card with foam tape. The Rainbow die covers the entire card front. 

 

I added a couple of enamel dots for just a bit of color on those black silhouette palm trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supply Links below - just click the graphic. (Affiliate Links Used) Thanks for coming by today! I hope you have a great day! Hang Ten groovy friends! See you soon! XOXO 

Guest Designing for WPlus9! Florals and Home Sweet Home!

Hi everyone! Nice to see you today. I hope you're enjoying the first weekend of Summer and that you had some time to regroup and recharge your batteries. My husband and I have been busy out enjoying the beautiful weather and taking photos... Yesterday we went to this amazing French Flea Market in Sonoma. WOW. I was blown away by this wonderful event. On Saturday I spent the entire day at my Local Stamp Store and took a wonderful Vintage Garden Book class. It's so nice to craft when someone else has lovingly prepared everything for you!! Friday we visited my favorite Barn Market and had time to enjoy a good conversation with the owner and her parents. We remarked last night how nice it's been to be away from electronics and to have face to face conversations. It's been a wonderful few days! I like these busy weekends where we just wander and explore.

 

I'm the guest designer over on the WPlus9 Design Blog today! I'm always thrilled when Dawn invites me to join her! She has inspired me for many years! I could sit and watch her watercolor videos for hours! CLICK HERE to visit the WPlus9 Blog! I'm using gorgeous new stamps and dies from the latest WPlus9 release today, and I have two cards to share. Every time the crew at WPlus9 launches a new release, I am inspired. Everything is always so unique and well thought out. I always want it all! And, usually one item in particular will catch my eye. This time it was the New Home Stamp Set. So pretty! Right away, I wanted to water color! 

 

 

 

My finished card is A2 sized and made from dark grey cardstock. All of the pieces were water colored with Mini Distress Inks! The stamp set has all the little pieces to make your own scene and I love that. I chose the doorway, the topiaries, the tiny door mat and the light. 

 

 

 

 

All of the pieces were stamped onto water color paper. The doorway was stamped in black ink and then colored with Distress Inks. The other pieces were stamped with Distress ink and then blended with a water brush. This is such a fun and easy technique! 

 

 

 

 

The stamp set includes a stamp that is two long skinny lines. You can use this stamp to make ship lap or siding for your house! It's genius! To make the 'house' part of this card, I stamped that long stamp in grey Distress Ink and then blended the lines with my water brush. 

 

 

 

 

All of the pieces were attached to the card using foam tape. The die cut hello is from the new Welcome Dies set. I die cut it from black cardstock.

 

 

 

 

I love that door mat! It's so cute!

 

 

 

 

In this close up photo you can see my no line water coloring on the pot and the topiary. To do this, simply stamp in Distress Ink and use a small water brush to move the color around! This stamp set has the perfect sentiments for a new home card, a neighbor card, or any other occasion! I have lots of ideas still for this set!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next card is bright and cheerful. I made this card using the Welcome Wreath Stamp Set and the My Whole Life Stamp Set. The card base is A2 size and made from light blue cardstock. This is a trick I use a lot - making my own colored card bases. Just adds a bit of pop to your project! I used one of the beautiful wreath stamps to make my own graphic black and white background paper! I stamped the wreath several times onto a white cardstock panel. It makes a great foundation layer. 

 

 

 

 

I stamped the flowers and leaves onto white cardstock. I slightly offset the colored centers from the outlines of the stamps for a cool look. I cut the pieces out with scissors since I wanted the leaves and the flowers attached. (There are also matching dies). 

 

 

 

 

I layered the card base, then the stamped wreath layer, then a layer of vellum (I love vellum), before mounting the center focal layer. The top layer is bordered in black cardstock. I stamped the word 'friend' onto this piece and then glued the die cut thanks word above it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers were attached to the card with foam tape. I added pretty pearls to the centers of the flowers for a nice accent. You could stamp the flowers in any color combination to get a different look! This is a good card layout to save. Any word die will work... I'm thinking it would look nice in warm colors with kraft cardstock too!

 

 

 

Big thank you to everyone at WPlus9 for inviting me to be a guest designer today! I'm honored to be here sharing with you! I had fun working with these beautiful stamps and dies. I hope I've inspired you to create something today. Take care! Click the graphic below to see my supplies (Affiliate Links Used). Please pop over to the WPlus9 Design Blog to share some love there too! Have a blessed day and a great week ahead. Thanks for coming by! XOXO

 

Hero Arts 45th Anniversary Blog Hop! Fun, Inspiration, and Prizes!

Hi creative and crafty friends! Happy Friday! Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend ahead! I'm here today as part of the three day extravaganza blog hop with Hero Arts! Yes, three days of celebrating, in honor of the company's 45th Anniversary! Today is Day 3 and there is an amazing line up of bloggers to share with you. AND...TONS of prizes!! Be sure to visit the Hero Arts Blog for details on how to enter to win, and to see the cards/blogs from all three days. You don't want to miss anything! This is some party! Ha! I'm happy to be part of the fun. 

My card is an ode to my city - San Francisco! Hero Arts has very cool destination stamps, and I have them all! I made a retro/vintage feeling card in honor of the anniversary. I used the Sky's The Limit hot air balloon stamps and dies, the Postage Stamp Infinity Dies and the awesome Mail Jumble stamp. I tied the card together by using lots of Distress Inks and antiquing the papers. I added just a pop of red and blue for color. 

 

 

My finished card is an A2 card base in cream cardstock. I used some air mail paper from my stash to completely cover the front of the card. I inked the edges with Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks and a large sponge dauber. Then I added lots of layers, and created my own city, complete with a hill of houses, and the bridge!

 

This photo shows all the layers. I used cream cardstock for everything, instead of bright white. This, right away, gives a vintage feeling. The layer on top of the air mail paper is a cream paper stamped with the Mail Jumble background stamp. I stamped it in Antique Linen Distress Ink and then inked the edges. I set that aside. The next layer is the Postage Stamp Infinity Dies, in cream, again inked around the edges. 

I stamped the balloon and the city pieces in brown ink. I colored the balloon with Copic Markers. I used red and blue to match the paper. Simple and cool.

 

The city and the sentiment are from a Kelly Purkey Hero Arts Stamp Set! I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder onto red cardstock from the Hero Hues sampler pack. I die cut it with a banner die. 

 

To make my city scene, I stamped four of the stamp that has the rows of houses. I stamped them in brown ink onto cream cardstock. I cut them out by hand (the bridge too). Then I built the pieces into a hill. If you've ever been to San Francisco before, you know about the hills! (I used to drive a stick shift on those hills back in the day!) I really love how this turned out! I added one heart. Cuz, you know, I left my heart in San Francisco!

 

Here's a picture of that stamp set, so you can see the stamps and how it came together!

 

On the postage stamp die cut piece, I used the MFT Cloud Stencil and Antique Linen Ink to make some clouds! I added a few seagulls too!

 

 

 

A perfect red envelope, and this card is ready to send! 

Thank you so very much for coming by today! If you're new to my blog, welcome welcome! I hope you'll come back and visit me! To see the rest of the lineup for all three days, be sure to visit the Hero Arts Blog! And be sure to leave a comment below for a chance at one of the prizes.

PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES!!! There are some amazing prizes with this blog hop! Winners will be drawn from people who leave comments along the blog hop over the three days - comment all three days for more chances to win! Comment by Sunday, June 2 at 11:59pm PST, and they will announce the winners on the Hero Arts Blog the following week. Prizes include gift certificates to lots of our favorite companies! 

For supplies, please click the link below! (Affiliate Links Used)

 

OUR GENEROUS SPONSOR LIST!

Altenew Hibiscus Garden Card!

Hi friends! How are you? Happy Sunday! I hope you're enjoying a beautiful weekend! And, can you even believe it, next weekend is Memorial Day! How the heck did that happen!? I'm looking forward to taking an awesome vintage book class next Saturday at my LSS. Not sure what else we'll be up to. The past week was SO busy. I was coming and going all over the place and it was all good, and fun. I had some photo shoots, lots of meetups, work, fun with friends. YEAH! Not too much time crafting though! I have a really cool card to share today. I'm making a focused effort to use all the stamps and dies in my 'new stuff' basket in my studio. I'm going to go through it and make the projects that have been swirling around in my brain! This project today is one of them. I used the gorgeous Hibiscus Dies from Altenew and made a pretty, tropical card! Let's look! 

The finished card is an A2 white card base. I layered one more layer of white - which has distress ink blending on it (more on that later) and then lots of flowers and leaves. It's simple, yet not simple! My color medium for today is all Distress Inks. CLICK HERE for Supply Links!

 

Here's a close up of the hibiscus flowers. Each flower is five die cut items. So it's really easy to color and assemble to achieve gorgeous results. One flower has a coral/orange base, and one has a deep pink base color. LOVE. I also am obsessed with the leaves that come in this die set!

 

The sentiment is also from an Altenew Stamp and Die set! It cut out like a dream! It's soooo pretty there on the bottom of the card. I love the font. You can also see the leaves and flowers in this photo. I used clear glue to attach the hello word at the end of the assembly process. I glued only the bottom part to the card.

 

In this photo you can see that beautiful Monstera Leaf die cut. It's two pieces. OMG. Right???? And you can also see the yellow ink blended background. I wanted it to look like sunshine coming from behind the flowers and leaves, but I didn't want the color to be overwhelming. 

 

 

 

Here are the plain die cut pieces. I used Bristol cardstock since it is thicker so it holds up to lots of inking. The die cuts cut like a dream! Even those tiny leaf centers. I didn't use a shim or anything with these. Very nice quality.

 

The die cut set packaging comes with a color guide inside! Makes it super easy to line up your pieces and get good results.

 

LOTS of mini distress inks!!! 

 

Once the flowers were dry, I glued all the parts together using clear glue. Then I splattered them with Copic Opaque White ink from a paint brush.

 

To make the ink blended yellow background.... Use purple tape to affix your cardstock to your stamping mat. Line up the purple tape by using the grid on your mat! That way you get a perfect rectangle! SO easy.

 

I used Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed Distress inks and blended darker to lighter from top to bottom. I also splashed ink splatters and white splatters onto this panel.

 

And here is the final result! Ready to go on my card.

 

 

 

I literally could make these flowers all day long!!! I only used one of the florals in the package!! There are so many dies in this set. YUUUMMMMM.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today! Next week I will be posting and participating in a giant blog hop to celebrate Hero Arts' 45th Anniversary. It's a three day extravaganza! Until then, take care and have a wonderful day! XOXO My supply list can be found by clicking the graphic below. Affiliate Links are used at no extra cost to you. I appreciate you using my links! 

Scrapbook.com May Stamp Release - Celebrate!

Hi there crafty friends! Happy weekend! I have two giveaways going right now! One is on my last blog post (for Picket Fence Studios) and one is on my Instagram (for Reverse Confetti)! Be sure to enter both! It was a busy week last week! So many fun things going on. I have a list in my journal of all the projects I want to make... And it has about 50 things on it! OMG. I have been really inspired lately, but haven't had enough time at my desk to stamp. So I write down jumbles of words and sketches and color combinations.... And I hope my brain remembers later what I was thinking! LOL. Thank you for the huge and fun response to my Instagram Takeover at Pretty Pink Posh on Monday. THAT WAS SUPER FUN! I'm trying to get better and more used to incorporating videos into my social media. I'm sort of shy in that regard, but I'm working on it. 

As you know, I'm a Brand Ambassador for Scrapbook.com, and specifically on their stamping design team. YAY! So today, I'm introducing you to the new stamp release for May! It's a lot of great sentiment stamp sets...and they're all on sale right now! The Scrapbook.com stamp sets are such nice quality. They stamp crisp and perfect right out of the package. And they are such a good price point. I definitely recommend them! I used all sentiment sets to make a graphic and colorful birthday card to share with you. I used bright colors and crisp white heat embossing. This birthday card would be perfect for a man or a woman of any age. I love to have lots of birthday cards on hand in the studio....

Scrapbook.com now sells Neenah White A2 VERTICAL notecards already scored! YES!! So I used one of those as my card base. I layered one more white layer and put about 1.25 inches of black and white striped paper on the left edge to form my card. Then I mixed and matched the sentiments and stamped them onto die cut banners. I sewed them all to the card on the left edge - really loose and funky.... Finally I added a few sequins and the make a wish stamp that comes in the birthday set. You could make this card in Fall colors or Primary colors. Really it would work with anything. It's a good card sketch to save!

 

I slipped in a few thinner vellum banners to add a bit of something something! They are tucked in behind the other banners and attached with foam tape. 

 

Here's a close up of the sewing and the sequins. These are my go-to favorite bright shades!

 

 

 

Here's a photo of some of the stamps in the new collection! I love that date set - I"m going to use that in my Bullet Journal and in my planner. It's the perfect size and a nice clean font! 

That's it for me today! I hope you have a beautiful weekend and that you're getting in some creative time too! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY SCRAPBOOK.COM GALLERY OF CARDS!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE!

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

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Picket Fence Studios First Anniversary Celebration!!

UPDATED! MY GIVEAWAY WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED - SUZIE P!  Hi everyone!  Today, I am so excited to be part of the Picket Fence Studios First Anniversary Celebration! Woohooo! They have a month of celebrations, giveaways, and discounts lined up, and I am so honored to be one of the guests during this celebration. Today is my day to post a project, and do a giveaway! More information about a discount code and prize at the end of my post. I fell in love with Picket Fence Studios right from the beginning. The designs are fresh and unique and funny! All the things we want in new stamps, right? Over the past year I've gotten to know the owners and I even met up with them at the local Scrap Expo recently. They are the best. Good people, working really hard to make some magic happen. I'm very happy to support their business! (they are the company that makes the Life Changing Blender Brushes too!) If you've never checked out their company before, now is a good time! Let's get to it! I tried out a new technique that I'm anxious to share with you!

My finished card is a white A2 card base. I layered one small layer of white, and then boom! BLUE!

 

This card was made using the gorgeous Vitamin Sea stamp set and matching dies. I'm pretty sure this is the first stamp set I bought from Picket Fence. It's charming and beautiful.... I did lots and lots of distress ink blending on the top layer and then added white ink using a stencil to look like rays coming through the water... (I've seen this technique on Instagram by some of my favorite crafters and have been wanting to try it!)

 

That sweet smiling whale was colored using Copic Markers and then die cut using the matching die. I splattered some white paint on him too. The sentiment was heat embossed in white embossing powder onto a black banner die. After I blended the background (I'll talk more about that in a minute), I stamped the fish, the starfish and the bubbles using black and navy inks. This gives a bit more depth and shadow over that blue.

 

The whale and the word banner are attached to the card with foam tape. I added clear droplets as my finishing accent. 

 

Okay! Here's that blue background! You should have seen my hands when I was finished! LOL. I looked like a smurf! I had fuuuuuun making it though! I used both the Tim Holtz Ink Blending Tools and the gorgeous Life Changing Blender Brushes to get this ocean effect. I started with the lightest color in sort of a circular shape, and then blended darker colors out from that circle. I kept blending and blending until I got the right effect. 

 

I used the Picket Fence Studios Sunbeam stencil and white ink, with a small dauber, to create rays shining down into the water. To do this, make sure that your underlying (Blue) layer is totally dry first! Then just dab the white ink onto the stencil. Keep adding ink until you get the look you want! Easy! But so cool!!

 

 

 

I splattered white ink onto the blue panel once all the other inks were dry. Here's a close up of the fish, starfish and bubbles stamped onto the card.

 

 

I hope you'll give this underwater technique a try! Thank you so very much for stopping by today! Big thank you to Picket Fence Studios for inviting me to share in their celebration this month. Please head over and check out their website! Read the Discount and Prize information below! YAY! Happy 1st Anniversary to Picket Fence Studios!

DISCOUNT CODE!

To celebrate Picket Fence Studio’s One Year Anniversary, Nicole and Matt have GENEROUSLY provided a 20% off code for my blog readers! Simply use code PFS20 at checkout at the PFS store to take 20% off of your entire purchase from 5/9/19-5/12/19.

GIVEAWAY!

WOW! WOW! WOW! Picket Fence has also sponsored a giveaway! One of my lucky blog readers will win a ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR shopping spree over at the Picket Fence Studios Store! Yes! $100.00! How amazing! To be entered to win, please leave a comment on this blog post telling me your favorite new craft technique you've tried recently! I will draw a random winner on Monday May 12th. Please leave your comment before Midnight EST on Sunday May 11th. AMAZING! 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

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Happy 6th Birthday Reverse Confetti! Birthday Blog Hop and May Release!

Hey there crafty friends! Today is a super fun and fabulous blog hop to celebrate Reverse Confetti's SIXTH birthday! Wooot! I've been a fan from day one and I'm very happy to be part of the party today. In honor of their birthday, there is a brand new, fun, birthday/celebration themed product release too! You're gonna love it. Cake, ice cream, champagne...what's not to love about that? CLICK HERE to see the new release! (Tip, you're gonna want the new paper pad! EEKS. I used it on both my cards today!) Congratulations to Jen and the entire crew at Reverse Confetti! Cheers to many more fun years of crafting together! XO

I made two birthday/party themed cards to share with you. I used sherbet shades of mint and peach and gold. Delicious! I've been wanting to use this color combination for a while (I keep a journal of colors) and this party release was the perfect fit! So fresh and pretty! Both cards color coordinate and are A2 sized white card bases.

The birthday card was made using the brand new Cake and Champagne stamp set and the matching dies.  I ADORE the little banner that you can put on top of the cake! This would look good in any colors for any celebratory occasion. The party card is a shaker card made with the party/celebrate word dies. I like them both for different reasons! Both are pretty festive!

 

I added lots of details to each card. I love that little touch of gold with the circle layer and the butterflies. And I added gold luxe Nuvo Drops on the tiny fireworks on the party card. The birthday cake and flowers were colored with Copic Markers to match that beautiful new patterned paper. 

 

That banner!!!! LOVE.

 

The flower sprays and the banner and cake all have perfectly matched died to make your card look professional. I sprayed the white layer of this card with Brutus Monroe Gilded (Gold) Spray for shimmer. It's kind of hard to see in the photo. The sentiment was stamped in rich black ink.

 

For the shaker card, I made my own confetti bits to go inside! I punched them out with this AWESOME punch! SO quick and easy. I punched out mint, peach and gold confetti from the paper used in the card. Perfect match.

 

 

 

For the shaker card, I die cut the party word die out three times onto a white paper panel. I added the acetate and the confetti and then backed the letters with the pretty mint and white striped paper. So much fun!!!! 

 

I really like how this came out!!!!! IT'S FUN!!!!

 

I used the new stamp set called So Many Sentiments to add the black stamped words onto this card. That set is a bunch of tiny sentiments - I know it will be used a lot!! 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today to join the fun birthday blog hop for Reverse Confetti! I hope I've inspired you to get creative! That's what it's all about. Have a blessed and beautiful day my friends! XOXO (I have a secret - you might want to head over to my Instagram...hint hint) 

 

TODAY'S BLOG HOP LINEUP!

Reverse Confetti Blog

Amy Kolling

Wanda Guess

Tricia Barber

Kelly Lunceford

Lisa Henke

Heather Hoffman

Michelle Short

Julee Tilman

Amy Tsuruta

Kathy Schweinfurth

Audrey Tokach

Jeanne Jachna

Leanne West

Becky Roberts

Deanne Kuntz

Ali Farmer

Annette Allen

Keeway Tsao

Raluca Vezeteu

 

TODAY'S SUPPLIES!

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Purple Onion Designs - Sunny Meadow Fair Collection by Stacey Yacula!

Hi friends! Happy Weekend! I hope you're out enjoying Spring! A couple of my craft gal pals are in town today so we're off stamping and eating...and probably drinking coffee too! It was a really good week last week. I feel like I got so much accomplished. And today is a play day - no worries or responsibilities today. Yeah! Today's blog post has two super fun cards made with brand new stamps from Purple Onion Designs and Stacey Yacula!

I've been a fan of Purple Onion Designs and Illustrator Stacey Yacula for a long time! So when they reached out to me recently and asked if I'd like to help launch their new release I was really excited to say yes! Her illustrations are adorable and sweet and so fun to stamp and color. They all coordinate so nicely too. The stamps are all sent in a different format - old school - unmounted red rubber. The red rubber stamps so clean! I miss the old days when rubber stamps were RUBBER! LOL. So to use them, I just use my clear blocks! No mounting foam needed. I roll a piece of washi tape up into a fold, stick it on my block, and then put the stamp on it. Then I stamp on a mat or fun foam. Works like a charm! 

The new collection is called Sunny Meadow Fair! EEEK. So cute. CLICK HERE to read about the new release on their blog. CLICK HERE to shop the collection on their website. Have fun looking at their cute stamps! I made two cards with a farm theme! Let's get to it! 

First up is this sweet birthday card with the adorable cow and her bird buddy! Finished card is A2 with a white card base. 

 

Purple Onion stamps do not have matching dies, so I did a bit of fussy cutting on this one. Not too bad though! (Again, old school which is fine with me!) I stamped the cute fence stamp and colored it with Copics on a white stitched rectangle panel. I layered pretty red and then my favorite gingham to make the images pop. 

 

The cow, balloon, bird and sentiment are all attached to the card with foam tape. I used the cloud stencil from My Favorite Things to make the background clouds, with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. 

 

 

 

That cow is TOO SWEET!!! I love her!!! 

My second card is another cute farm scene! This time with a happy chicken and her baby chicks! Strolling among the sunflowers! This card has an A2 kraft card base, layered with yellow gingham and then a white panel. 

 

I started by stamping (with masking) the sunflowers and the fence. Then I stamped the sun up in the corner, and the babies along the bottom. I hand cut out the sentiment and the mama chicken and mounted them with foam tape. Really fun to color these images with Copics. They make you smile for sure. 

 

A few accents with my handy dandy white gel pen!

 

 

 

 

That's it for this sunny Saturday! I hope you've enjoyed this peek at the new Purple Onion Designs collection! I have been stamping like a FOOOOOL! I have so much to share in the next week or so. Stay tuned and I'll see you soon! XOXO Love from my studio! 

Pretty Pink Posh April Release Blog Hop! Pretty Peonies!

Heyyyyyy everyone! How are you? How is your week going? I've missed you! It's been a little bit since I posted here on the blog. I'm back with something super fun today, though! I've been crafting like crazy, and there will be lots of posts in the upcoming weeks. I've taken a little break from the computer and such and it felt good. Our home repairs are finished and my anxiety level has returned to normal. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping! Happy Spring!

Today's post is part of a FABULOUS blog hop launching the newest collection from Pretty Pink Posh! YEAH! It's another amazing collection chock full of flowers and beautiful dies, and Mother's Day and Graduations...SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! The release is already live, so you can shop now! CLICK HERE to go to the Pretty Pink Posh Store! Individual product links are at the end of this post - along with prize information! Yippeeeee! This is day one of a massive two day blog hop. So many of my favorite designers. I'm really blessed to be part of the lineup!

I used the gorgeous new Peonies stamps and dies to make a watercolor floral card. These peonies are the perfect size and scale for a card and they are SO fun to color. You can use pencils, Copics, or water colors. Whatever your heart desires! I was in the mood to water color and get messy and that's just what I did. Let's look at my card! And I'll walk you through my steps. The finished card is A2 size. 

 

 

Everything on my card was cut out from water color paper and stamped with Versafine Archival Onyx Black Ink. I started by stamping and die cutting out the lattice background, the peonies, leaves and butterfly. I used my favorite water color paint palette to color in the peonies in a pretty magenta/violet/pink color! I mixed and matched colors to get this pretty shade. I water colored all the pieces using a wet on wet technique. I set them aside to dry.

 

Here's another appearance of that gorgeous butterfly from the last PPP Release! She looks perfect perched up there enjoying the flowers! Since there is so much color on the flowers, I used some grey to ground the scene by coloring her body grey. I water colored the Lattice Background with a pretty shade of blue. I did it very messy! Some parts are left white. 

 

Here are the flowers before I added lots of black and white splatters! When you're going to splatter - make sure that your images are totally dry first! This makes a huge difference. I usually give everything a blast with my heat gun to make sure.

 

Splatters!! Black and white both this time! The background lattice was splattered with blue ink.

 

 

 

At first I was going to use a word die for the sentiment...but it didn't look the way I wanted it to. So, I switched gears and die cut a stitched circle out of watercolor paper. I stamped the sentiment in black and put just a touch of water color paint on it. I added two of the gorgeous new Caribbean Blue Gems!!

 

All the pieces were attached to the card with foam squares.

 

 

Thanks for coming by today as part of this fun blog hop! I'm so excited about this new release! CLICK HERE to shop the entire new release! 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! There are FOUR $25 gift certificates up for grabs (two winners each day). Winners will be picked randomly along all the stops on the blog hop. Comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 5/8/2019. Winners will be announced on the PPP blog! 

BLOG HOP DAY ONE LINEUP!

Pretty Pink Posh blog  

Yana Smakula 

Carly Minner  

Gemma C.

Thi Lam

Dana Kirby

Suzy Plantamura

Keeway Tsao

Heather Hoffman

Jeanne Jachna

Melody Rupple

Wanda Guess

Caly Person

 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

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